Presidents

President: Clayton T. Cowl, MD, MS, FCCP, is board-certified in pulmonary and critical care medicine, occupational medicine and internal medicine with clinical and research interests in airway disorders, occupational-related respiratory health, toxicology, altitude physiology and aviation medicine. Dr. Cowl is Chair of the Division of Preventive, Occupational and Aerospace Medicine with a joint appointment in the Division of Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine at Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota.

His research focus include projects in occupational lung disease such as work-related asthma and toxic inhalations as well as studies of environmental adaptation and oxygen mask delivery efficacy at Mayo Clinic’s altitude chamber. Dr. Cowl is currently the Immediate Past President of the Civil Aviation Medical Association and is a Senior Aviation Medical Examiner designated by the Federal Aviation Administration.

In 2015, Dr. Cowl received the Innovation in Education Award from the Mayo School of Continuous Professional Development, Mayo Clinic College of Medicine, for work on developing and leading a course training physicians and advanced nurse practitioners on performing medical certification examination on commercial truck and bus drivers. He was also named a Distinguished Educator by CHEST on multiple occasions, has served for eight years on the CHEST Board of Regents, was the Chair of CHEST’s pulmonary medicine board review course for three years, serves on the CHEST SEEK Pulmonary Medicine Editorial Board and has led a variety of initiatives focused on strategic planning and use of a variety of new communication platforms.

President-Elect: Stephanie M. Levine, MD, FCCP, is an expert in lung transplantation, pulmonary and critical care issues in pregnancy and women’s lung health and eosinophilic lung disorders. She is a Professor of Medicine in the Division of Pulmonary Diseases and Critical Care Medicine at the University of Texas Health Science Center in San Antonio, Texas; the Program Director of the Pulmonary and Critical Care Fellowship at the University of Texas Health Science Center; and the Director of the Medical Intensive Care Unit at the University Hospital.

She is also a staff physician at the Audie Murphy Veteran Administration Hospital. Dr. Levine has authored or co-authored over 280 manuscripts, chapters, reviews, editorials and abstracts, primarily in her major field of interest, lung transplantation. She has been Editor for both CHEST SEEK Critical Care Medicine and Pulmonary Medicine editions. In 2009 she received the CHEST Presidential Citation Award, in 2010 the CHEST Distinguished Service Award and in 2017 the Master Clinician Educator Award. She has also been recognized as a Distinguished CHEST Educator in 2017 and 2018.

Dr. Levine has been active in CHEST international activities with CHEST World Congress meetings, the 2017 Basel Joint CHEST/SPG Congress in collaboration with the Swiss Lung Association and with the pulmonary/critical care subspecialty training programs being developed in China. She was President and Chair of the CHEST Foundation from 2010-2014 and is currently on the CHEST Board of Regents.

President-Designate: Steven Q. Simpson, MD, FCCP, is a pulmonologist and intensivist with an extensive background in sepsis and in critical care quality improvement. Dr. Simpson acts as CHEST Regent-at-Large of the Board of Regents, board liaison for the Guidelines Oversight Committee, sits on numerous board task forces and subcommittees and is a member of the CHEST SEEK Critical Care Medicine Editorial Board. Dr. Simpson is Professor of Medicine in the Division of Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine at the University of Kansas. He is also senior advisor to the Solving Sepsis initiative of the Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority (BARDA) of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.

He has conducted research in all areas of severe sepsis including molecular and cellular mechanisms, translational, quality improvement and computer modeling studies. He was a founder in 2005 of the Midwest Critical Care Collaborative, a multidisciplinary and interprofessional collaborative effort to improve the quality of critical care services throughout the Midwest. In 2007, he initiated the Kansas Sepsis Project, a statewide program to improve severe sepsis care and outcomes via continuing education both in sepsis and in quality improvement principles, and via interprofessional collaborations. Dr. Simpson is an author of the 2016 and 2020 updates of the Surviving Sepsis Campaign Guidelines. He is a member of the board of directors and Chief Medical Officer of Sepsis Alliance, a nationwide patient information and advocacy organization.

During his tenure at the University of New Mexico, he contributed to the discovery of a particular form of sepsis, the hantavirus pulmonary syndrome, and published numerous papers on the clinical description, the hemodynamic description and the approach to supportive care for patients with the syndrome, including extracorporeal hemodynamic and oxygenation support. Dr. Simpson has authored over 180 scientific articles, book chapters, editorials, abstracts and electronic media publications. He was awarded the 2009 Eli Lilly Distinguished Scholar in Critical Care Medicine Award of the American College of Chest Physicians and the 2013 Roger C. Bone Memorial Lecture in Critical Care Medicine, which recognizes career contributions to the field. He has also been recognized as a Distinguished CHEST Educator in 2017 and 2018.

Immediate Past President: John E. Studdard, MD, FCCP, is a pulmonary and critical care physician in private practice with Jackson Pulmonary Associates in Jackson, Mississippi. Jackson Pulmonary is a group of 12 physicians, 18 critical care and family nurse practitioners, five respiratory therapists and now approximately 100 employees located in two office locations and a sleep laboratory.

Dr. Studdard completed his training in internal medicine and pulmonary/critical care at the Mayo Clinic in 1981 before returning to his hometown to practice since that time. Having received his F.C.C.P designation in 1983, John has served CHEST as a member and Chair of the Government Relations Committee from 1989-1999. During this period he represented CHEST and other public health organizations in the negotiations with the tobacco industry that led to the Tobacco Master Settlement Agreement of 1998.

He served the CHEST Foundation as a board of trustee from 2009-2016 and as its President and Chair. Dr. Studdard served on the CHEST Board of Regents from 2012-2014 and again from 2016 and as an ex officio member of the CHEST Joint Financial Oversight Committee, chair of a task force on diversity and inclusion and as a member on the program committee. Dr. Studdard was the recipient of the Distinguished Service Award from CHEST in 2015.

About the American College of Chest Physicians

The American College of Chest Physicians is the global leader in advancing best patient outcomes through innovative chest medicine education, clinical research, and team-based care. With more than 19,000 members representing 100+ countries around the world, our mission is to champion the prevention, diagnosis, and treatment of chest diseases through education, communication, and research. This includes connecting health-care professionals to the latest clinical research and a wide array of evidence-based guidelines through the CHEST Journal, while also serving as a total education resource for clinicians through year-round meetings, books, mobile apps, and live courses in pulmonary, critical care, and sleep medicine. The first medical association with a clinical simulation program accredited by the Society for Simulation in Healthcare, the American College of Chest Physicians also provides hands-on training through innovative simulation education. The CHEST Foundation, our philanthropic arm, provides members with grants, patient education tools, and other resources to help their patients live and breathe easier.